Break Me Down
by Carnicera
Summary: Emily and her camp were previously stationed at Fort Benning until it was overrun with biters. After her group was ambushed by civilians, she has to survive on her own and find a safe haven to call home. Rated M for language, violence, and future smuttiness.


**Author's Note:** It's been a while since I've written much of anything... but I've been DYING to write an Daryl/OC fanfic! Especially after reading all of the great ones out there!

I was inspired to write this based on Season 3 Episode 3 "Walk With Me" when Michonne, Andrea, and the good ol' folks of Woodbury discovered the crashed helicopter. The story will start from there but I will shed a little back story about the previous 12 months since the outbreak.

I am torn between writing this in either the third person or first person. Any feedback on this would be great! In fact, any feedback is great! I'm looking to publish a new chapter every Sunday or sooner.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Walking Dead or its characters.

**OC:  
-**  
Name: Emily Diaz  
Age: 25  
Height/Body: 5 foot 4 inches/slightly athletic build  
Hair: Dark brown curly shoulder length hair with bangs  
Eyes: Brown  
Occupation: Specialist in the Army National Guard

Interstate 85 was a graveyard. Cars left abandoned, some with doors and trunks left wide opened. I can only imagine what the civilians went through with the highway this backed up. I peered out the window of the humvee before hopping out, making sure there weren't any of those... biters lurking. I felt a hand gently squeeze my thigh before I swung the door open.

"Can I have a word, Em - Diaz?", Bradley asked. He turned to the two soldiers in the backseat and nodded at them. Tanner and Wilson nodded back and stepped out of the humvee.

"Look, about the other night...", he started.

I had spent practically the entire week getting on as though nothing had happened between him and I. It had felt like a mistake and I didn't want the rest of the group to know we had "done the deed".

"I'm cool with it.", I cut him off. "In this new world, anything can happen at anytime. One minute we could be here, and the next... We're dead. I felt lonely. You felt lonely. I'm a big girl, Bradley. Who came knocking on whose tent that night?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted-"

"Then what else is there to talk about?", I asked while opening the door. I paused and waited for him to continue without looking back, until I heard his door open and he stepped out.

I sighed. Ever since this whole outbreak, I've felt empty. Disconnected. Sure, Bradley had been great in the sack, but I just had no interest in continuing down that path.

We were stationed at Fort Benning. It had doubled as both a base and a safe haven for civilians with FEMA setup as well. We lasted almost a year. Things were orderly. The fences held. Civilians were protected. We still had enough food and supplies to keep us going... Until one of the men inside somehow got bit and the gates were opened. That's when things went to shit in a matter of hours. We grabbed whatever supplies and vehicles we could and abandoned post.

Since we fled base, there were only 11 of us.  
Welles had taken up Franklin and Sean in the bird to see if there was a clearing on the highway ahead. So, technically there were 8 of us, myself included.

We had enough food for a week or so, but the water was a different issue. Our group had taken a humvee, M35 cargo truck, and flatbed truck to haul the UH-1 helicopter. Plenty of guns, ammo, grenades, and other odd bits to keep us going for even longer.

"It looks like we're starting to run low on water. I'm going to take these jugs over to the creek out back and wash up a bit. I smell pretty rank." I frowned when the boys nodded their heads in unison.

"You smell damn near close to one of those biters. I nearly put you down this morning thinking you was one of them!", chimed in Tanner.

I rolled my eyes and tied the empty jugs together with some nylon cord. Swinging my M4 carbine over towards my chest, I threw my pack over my shoulder which contained a somewhat fresh ACU and other essentials I'd need.

"Diaz, I'll help you carry the water back in twenty!", Wilson smiled. "That should be plenty-o-time to wash behind those ears."

After mouthing the words "thank you" to him, I headed towards the creek. Wilson was thoughtful enough to give me some privacy. He was the youngest of the group and the only to still treat me like a lady. Pfffft. I felt far from one in this new world. I snorted at the thought.

The creek was just a few hundred yards away from camp. I placed the jugs and my pack down and did a quick sweep of the immediate surrounding area with my M4 pointed out. We hadn't seen a biter since we got onto the highway. I tried peering back at the camp, but the forest was too thick from where I was. I couldn't even hear the boys anymore.

As quickly as I could, I used my canteen and Gaines' to fill the jugs - I wanted enough time to clean up before Wilson arrived. This water will definitely need to be boiled before we drink it. Each jug held 5 gallons and we had the necessary equipment in the truck for sanitizing it.

Zipping off my camouflage ACU jacket, it revealed my black sleeveless shirt with a dark green sports bra peeping through from the sides. I started removing my holster and froze when I heard the gun fire coming from camp.

I took off sprinting back with my M4 in hand.

**Back at camp  
-**

A few of the men were unloading the vehicles and checking supplies while Bradley and Tanner looked over a map of Georgia.

"Vehicle approaching, Corporal", alerted Tanner.

"Hold up, hold up!", yelled Dunn as he tried getting the attention of the rest of the camp.

Corporal Bradley watched as a silver Nissan pulled into their camp, the driver waving a white handkerchief signaling to the camp that they were friendly.

With what had happened since fleeing Fort Benning, the soldiers were cautious and slung their rifles over to their chest, keeping them at the ready.

"Stay alert!", warned Bradley as he led his group towards the entrance of the camp.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't shoot!", yelled the driver, now hanging his head out of the window along with his raised arm.

"Identify yourself!", demanded Bradley as he kept his rifle raised towards the driver.

"Hey, hey, hey! We found your guy!", the driver exclaimed, now stepping out of the Nissan and walking towards the group. Still waving the handkerchief, he continued "Welles. Lieutenant Welles. His chopper went down."

"Where is he?", asked Bradley, starting to lower his rifle.

"We got a little settlement. Now, he's badly hurt... But he's alive.", the driver paused, before continuing, "The other guys didn't make it, I'm sorry. But Welles, he told me I would find you here. Wants me to bring you to him."

"They found Welles! They got him! They found him!", yelled Tanner towards the rest of the camp. Some of the men started smiling and fist pumping after hearing the news.

Bradley sighed with relief. He felt for Sean and Franklin but was glad that Welles was alright. He turned around to smile back at Tanner when the vested driver started speaking again.

"We sure did! We found you, too!", he said as he pulled out a pistol and shot Bradley in the chest.

Shots started coming from the woods. The soldiers looked around and couldn't spot which direction they were coming from or who the shooters were. Each of the remaining six men slowly started dropping as the shooting continued. None of them had time to react.

**In the forest  
-**

I laid still in the bushes and watched what had remained of my group. Wilson, Tanner, Gaines, Walsh, Dunn, Avila, and Bradley... My brothers. No amount of training could prepare me for this.

There was a man wearing a vest using a knife to cut off Bradley's rifle strap off. I was horrified to see the butt of it used to bash Bradley's head in. I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing.

Seven men came from different parts of the woods to meet in the middle of our camp with the one that had murdered Bradley.

"Never waste a bullet, son.", he said, "Pick up the rest of these weapons."

"Yes, sir.", said the youngest of the lot.

In the corner, behind the cargo truck, I saw Tanner getting up and began running off into the woods clutching at his side. I wanted to wave him down. I wanted to protect him. But I froze and watched in horror as the group of civilians turned to watch him.

It only took a shot. One. For the man in the vest to bring him down.

"Go put a merciful end to that young man's days.", the man in the vest said while handing a bayonet to the kid.

"Let's see what Uncle Sam brought us, shall we?"

I watched as they rummaged through the cargo truck and humvee. The flatbed didn't hold much and was really only used for transporting the helicopter and extra fuel that couldn't fit elsewhere. When they finally took off with the vehicles, I waited a few minutes before heading back to the creek to pick up my pack and jacket.

I tried to cry. I wanted to. I wanted to scream and chase after them. But nothing. I felt more numb than I did before. I couldn't even remember the last time I cried...

Once at the creek, I grabbed my pack and reattached my holster and pistol. Full clips in both my pistol and M4 with some loose rounds in the pockets of my jacket and pants. I took out my bayonet from my pack and decided it was best to take inventory of what I had in there. In there was 30 feet nylon rope, a small first aid kit, water proof matches, map, compass, another full ACU (with spare undergarments), a box of crackers, can of dried fruit and nuts, half a canteen of drinkable water, and 2 grenades in the side pockets. Strapped to the top of my pack was a sleeping bag. I had enough water for a day and no way to boil the water I collected earlier.

That night, I decided to stay by the creek. I couldn't risk getting attacked by biters while I was sleeping so I pulled my pack up a tree, secured it to a branch, and secured myself up top a higher branch.

My mind would not stop repeating the events of earlier that day. Bradley. Hearing the shots. The man with the vest. Who were those men? Why were they so ruthless? Where were they from? WHERE CAN I FIND THEM?!

I reached into my side pocket and pulled out a wrinkled box of cigarettes. They weren't menthols, but they'd do. I lit one up and took a long smooth drag. Almost immediately, I felt lightheaded and woozy. Just what I needed to take the edge off. It had been months since I had one and the pack happened to be wedged between the chair and the floorboard. It was practically fate that I found them.

After I finished and flicked the butt, my eyelids started growing heavy and soon I fell asleep.


End file.
